With a number of construction laser levels available today it is tough to decide on picking a particular model. Which is why researching about the models available is imperative.
There are different features in rotary laser level for outdoor and indoor construction jobs and the construction laser level needs to be decided based on the requirement. Your requirement is fence posts, construction site grading, installing an underground pipe, chair rails for dining room or other construction related jobs. These questions will define the features you require in a laser level specifically designed for construction jobs.
Top Rated Construction Laser Level 2020 Comparison Chart
- Topcon RL-H4C
- Range: 2,600 ft (800 m)
- Accuracy: ±1/16-in @ 100ft
- Rotation speed: 600 rpm
- Battery life: 100 hrs
- Dewalt DW079KDT
- Range: 1,500 ft (450 m)
- Accuracy: ±1/8-in @ 100ft
- Rotation speed: 60, 250, 600 rpm
- Battery life: 30 hrs
- Johnson 99-006K
- Range: 800 ft (240 m)
- Accuracy: ±1/8-in @ 50ft
- Rotation speed: 200, 400, 600 rpm
- Battery life: 20 hrs
- CST/berger RL25HCK
- Range: 2,000 ft (600 m)
- Accuracy: ±3/32-in @ 100ft
- Rotation speed: 150, 300, 600 rpm
- Battery life: 85 hrs
- Bosch GRL300HVCK
- Range: 1,000 ft (300 m)
- Accuracy: ±1/8-in @ 100ft
- Rotation speed: 150, 300, 600 rpm
- Battery life: 40 hrs
What are Construction Lasers Used for?
There are a variety of different jobs for which construction laser levels are required.
Indoor Uses of Laser Level in a Construction Site:
- Plumbing and aligning walls
- Levelling of floor
- Drop ceiling installation
- Determining the height of doors and windows
- Installation of wainscoting and chair rails
- Alignment of cabinets, trims and shelves
- Tripod in the laser level helps in aligning the chair rails and cabinet
Outdoor Uses of Laser Level in a Construction Site:
- All types of basic surveys
- Site Layout
- Drainage or contour farming
- Aligning posts, fences and decks
- Check land elevations
- Masonry alignment
- Grade Establishment
- Grade can be set for proper irrigation and drainage if lasers have slope capability
A laser level shouldn’t be application specific; there are three types of laser level for construction which makes work much easier.
Basic Models of Laser Levels Which Emit Lasers in Different Ways
Dot or Plumb Lasers
Dot lasers emit multiple and single dot of reference on the work surface or wall. They work like a location point or a laser plumb bob. Plumb lasers work fine for distances between 1 feet to 150 feet.
Line Level Lasers or Laser Line Generators
Line level lasers are known to produce cross-hair type or single line laser on the wall. These laser levels are known to emit level lines in a single direction on one workspace or a single wall.
These laser levels are usually used indoors, they are extremely handy and don’t require to be positioned on desk, saw-horse, ladder or to be mounted to laser platform or light-weight jamb-pole. If your working space is 1 feet to 150 feet line level lasers are fit for the job.
Rotary Level Lasers
Rotary level lasers produce lines around the complete room in 360° or in a rotary fashion. These types of laser levels are heavier and bigger in size and need to be mounted on survey tripods. Most rotary level lasers are featured to lie over their side with the help of a trivet which help them to project on a vertical plane if used in this way.
The rotating single laser makes a human eye believe that it is seeing a single line throughout the room; which is why it gets the name rotary laser. Rotary level lasers work pretty good inside but if you wish to work with it outside then you need to have a laser detector or laser receiver. Lasers cannot be seen in bright daylight which is why a laser receiver is required.
Features of Laser Levels
- Manual Leveling lasers
You need to turn the units thumbs screws and get the unit levelled manually by seeing the bubble vials.
- Automatic and Self Leveling Lasers
This type of laser level automatically locates and maintains a certain range. There are a few which have bubble vial and rough levelling is done manually after which the laser will spontaneously begin fine levelling. There will be a few which will start levelling automatically if the platform or setup is obstructed by coincidence. It is advised that self-levelling or automatic levelling labelled devices should be checked before purchasing.
- Horizontal Lasers
A single laser beam only is emitted in this type of laser level.
- Dual or Split Beam Lasers
This type of laser level produces vertical or horizontal beams to establish plumb and level references lines. Typically when a laser is defined as Dual Beam it means one level beam like with a rotary laser emits a flat line across the room and the other beam is merely a plumb-up dot on the ceiling.
Laser receivers need to be mounted on level rods in order to detect the laser beam when you are working in sunlight. Detectors will produce sound and a small beep if you close on level and once you are on an exact level there will be a solid beep. Some of them also have an audible and visual alarm. There is an LCD screen and a beeping noise is made which increases as you near the level, on finally reaching the exact level the beep will be a solid one.
There are some level lasers which come with either variable or fixed rotation speed. They will have a variable or fixed RPM. RPM or ‘rotations per minute’ is the number of times the laser in a rotary laser rotates in a minute. A faster RPM will be dim but gives you a better range whereas a slow RPM will travel slow but is brighter to see.
Conclusion
Before investing in a laser level you need to check the laser level review online or in the market. A laser level for construction is one which will comprises of remote controls, beam scanning, AC charges, variable rotation speed, grade capability, rechargeable battery packs and others. Attachments would be detectors, ceiling and wall mounting laser platforms, tripod, trivets etc.
It is up to you to decide which laser level is suited for your purpose or what are the tasks that you wish to undertake when you are using a laser level.
Many set-ups in a level laser will help you in completing a job alone instead of two or more. So jot down all the requirements before you proceed to buy the construction laser level for your job.
